And a fourth

If a quickwitted man have made proof of mankind, I have eaten of

them, where but tasted hath he,

And have seen their affection but practice and nought But

hypocrisy found their religion to be.'

'O my father,' said Ali, 'I hear and obey: what more shall I do?'

'Do good when thou art able thereto,' answered his father; 'be

ever courteous and succourable to men and profit by all occasions

of doing a kindness; for a design is not always easy of

accomplishment; and how well saith the poet:

'Tis not at every time and season that to do Kind offices,

indeed, is easy unto you;

So, when the occasion serves, make haste to profit by't, Lest by

and by the power should fail thee thereunto.'

'I hear and obey,' answered Ali; 'what more?' 'Be mindful of

God,' continued Mejdeddin, 'and He will be mindful of thee.

Husband thy wealth and squander it not; for, if thou do, thou

wilt come to have need of the least of mankind. Know that the

measure of a man's worth is according to what his right hand

possesses: and how well saith the poet:

If wealth should fail, there is no friend will bear me company,

But whilst my substance yet abounds, all men are friends to

me.

How many a foe for money's sake hath companied with me! How many

a friend for loss thereof hath turned mine enemy!'

'What more?' asked Ali. 'O my son,' said Mejdeddin, 'take counsel

of those who are older than thou and hasten not to do thy heart's

desire. Have compassion on those that are below thee, so shall

those that are above thee have compassion on thee; and oppress

none, lest God set over thee one who shall oppress thee. How well

saith the poet:

Add others' wit to thine and counsel still ensue; For that the

course of right is not concealed from two.

One mirror shows a man his face, but, if thereto Another one he

add, his nape thus can he view.

And as saith another:

Be slow to move and hasten not to match thy heart's desire: Be

merciful to all, as thou on mercy reckonest;

For no hand is there but the hand of God is over it, And no

oppressor but shall be with worse than he opprest.

And yet another:

Do no oppression, whilst the power thereto is in thine hand; For

still in peril of revenge the sad oppressor goes.

Thine eyes will sleep anon, what while the opprest, on wake, call

down Curses upon thee, and God's eye shuts never in repose.

Beware of drinking wine, for it is the root of all evil: it does

away the reason and brings him who uses it into contempt; and how

well saith the poet:

By Allah, wine shall never invade me, whilst my soul Endureth in

my body and my thoughts my words control!

Not a day long will I turn me to the zephyr-freshened bowl, And

for friend I'll choose him only who of wine-bibbing is

whole.

This, then,' added Mejdeddin, 'is my charge to thee; keep it

before thine eyes, and may God stand to thee in my stead.' Then

he swooned away and kept silence awhile. When he came to himself,

he besought pardon of God and making the profession of the Faith,

was admitted to the mercy of the Most High. His son wept and

lamented for him and made due preparation for his burial. Great

and small attended him to the grave and the readers recited the

Koran about his bier; nor did Ali Shar omit aught of what was due

to the dead. Then they prayed over him and committed him to the

earth, graving these words upon his tomb:

Created of the dust thou wast and cam'st to life And eloquence

didst learn and spokest many a word;

Then to the dust again returnedst and wast dead, As 'twere from

out the dust, indeed, thou'dst never stirred.

His son Ali Shar grieved for him and mourned him after the wont

of men of condition; nor did he cease therefrom till his mother

died also, not long afterward, when he did with her as he had

done with his father. Then he sat in the shop, selling and buying

and consorting with none of God's creatures, in accordance with

his father's injunction.

On this wise he abode for a year, at the end of which time there

came in to him certain whoreson fellows by craft and companied

with him, till he turned with them to lewdness and swerved from

the right way, drinking wine in goblets and frequenting the fair

night and day; for he said in himself, 'My father amassed this

wealth for me, and if I spend it not, to whom shall I leave it?

By Allah, I will not do save as saith the poet:

If all the days of thy life thou get And heap up treasure, to

swell thy hoard,

When wilt thou use it and so enjoy That thou hast gathered and

gained and stored?'

Then he ceased not to squander his wealth all tides of the day

and watches of the night, till he had made away with it all and

abode in evil case and troubled at heart. So he sold his shop and

lands and so forth, and after this he sold the clothes off his

body, leaving himself but one suit. Then drunkenness left him and

thought came to him, and he fell into melancholy.

One day, when he had sat from day-break to mid-afternoon without

breaking his fast, he said in himself, 'I will go round to those

on whom I spent my wealth: it may be one of them will feed me

this day.' So he went the round of them all; but, as often as he

knocked at any one's door, the man denied himself and hid from

him, till he was consumed with hunger. Then he betook himself to

the bazaar, where he found a crowd of people, assembled in a ring

round somewhat, and said in himself, 'I wonder what ails the folk

to crowd together thus? By Allah, I will not remove hence, till I

see what is within yonder ring!' So he made his way into the ring

and found that the crowd was caused by a damsel exposed for sale.

She was five feet high, slender of shape, rosy-cheeked and high-

bosomed and surpassed all the people of her time in beauty and

grace and elegance and perfection; even as saith one, describing

her:

As she wished, she was created, after such a wise that lo! She in

beauty's mould was fashioned, perfect, neither less no mo'.

Loveliness itself enamoured of her lovely aspect is; Coyness

decks her and upon her, pride and pudour sweetly show.

In her face the full moon glitters and the branch is as her

shape; Musk her breath is, nor midst mortals is her equal,

high or low.

'Tis as if she had been moulded out of water of pure pearls; In

each member of her beauty is a very moon, I trow.

And her name was Zumurrud.

When Ali Shar saw her, he marvelled at her beauty and grace and

said, 'By Allah, I will not stir hence till I see what price this

girl fetches and know who buys her!' So he stood with the rest of

the merchants, and they thought he had a mind to buy her, knowing

the wealth he had inherited from his parents. Then the broker

stood at the damsel's head and said, 'Ho, merchants! Ho, men of

wealth! Who will open the biddings for this damsel, the mistress

of moons, the splendid pearl, Zumurrud the Curtain-maker, the aim

of the seeker and the delight of the desirous? Open the biddings,

and on the opener be nor blame nor reproach.'

So one merchant said, 'I bid five hundred dinars for her.' 'And

ten,' said another. 'Six hundred,' cried an old man named

Reshideddin, blue-eyed and foul of face. 'And ten,' quoth

another. 'I bid a thousand,' rejoined Reshideddin; whereupon the

other merchants were silent and the broker took counsel with the

girl's owner, who said, 'I have sworn not to sell her save to

whom she shall choose; consult her.' So the broker went up to

Zumurrud and said to her, 'O mistress of moons, yonder merchant

hath a mind to buy thee.' She looked as Reshideddin and finding

him as we have said, replied, 'I will not be sold to a grey-

beard, whom decrepitude hath brought to evil plight.' 'Bravo,'

quoth I, 'for one who saith:

I asked her for a kiss one day, but she my hoary head Saw, though

of wealth and worldly good I had great plentihead;

So, with a proud and flouting air, her back she turned on me And,

"No, by Him who fashioned men from nothingness!" she said.

"Now, by God's truth, I never had a mind to hoary hairs, And

shall my mouth be stuffed, forsooth, with cotton, ere I'm

dead?"

'By Allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou art excusable, and thy value

is ten thousand dinars!' So he told her owner that she would not

accept of Reshideddin, and he said, 'Ask her of another.'

Thereupon another man came forward and said, 'I will take her at

the same price.' She looked at him and seeing that his beard was

dyed, said, 'What is this lewd and shameful fashion and

blackening of the face of hoariness?' And she made a great show

of amazement and repeated the following verses:

A sight, and what a sight, did such a one present To me! A neck,

to beat with shoes, by Allah, meant!

And eke a beard for lie a coursing-ground that was And brows for

binding on of ropes all crook'd and bent.[FN#12]

Thou that my cheeks and shape have ravished, with a lie Thou dost

disguise thyself and reck'st not, impudent;

Dyeing thy hoary hairs disgracefully with black[FN#13] And hiding

what appears, with fraudulent intent;

As of the puppet-men thou wert, with one beard go'st And with

another com'st again, incontinent.

And how well saith another:

Quoth she to me, "I see thou dy'st thy hoariness;" and I, "I do

but hide it from thy sight, O thou my ear and eye!"[FN#14]

She laughed out mockingly and said, "A wonder 'tis indeed! Thou

so aboundest in deceit that even thy hair's a lie."

'By Allah,' quoth the broker, 'thou hast spoken truly!' The

merchant asked what she said: so the broker repeated the verses

to him, and he knew that she was in the right and desisted from

buying her. Then another came forward and would have bought her

at the same price; but she looked at him and seeing that he had

but one eye, said, 'This man is one-eyed; and it is of such as he

that the poet saith:

Consort not with him that is one-eyed a day, And be on thy guard

'gainst his mischief and lies:

For God, if in him aught of good had been found, Had not curst

him with blindness in one of his eyes.'

Then the broker brought her another bidder and said to her, 'Wilt

thou be sold to this man?' She looked at him and seeing that he

was short of stature and had a beard that reached to his navel,

said, 'This is he of whom the poet speaks, when he says:

I have a friend, who has a beard, that God Caused flourish

without profit, till, behold.

'Tis, as it were, to look upon, a night Of middle winter, long

and dark and cold.'

'O my lady,' said the broker, 'look who pleases thee of these

that are present, and point him out, that I may sell thee to

him.' So she looked round the ring of merchants, examining them

one by one, till her eyes rested on Ali Shar. His sight cost her

a thousand sighs and her heart was taken with him: for that he

was passing fair of favour and more pleasant than the northern

zephyr; and she said, 'O broker, I will be sold to none but my

lord there, he of the handsome face and slender shape, whom the

poet describes in the following verses:

They showed thy lovely face and railed At her whom ravishment

assailed.

Had they desired to keep me chaste, Thy face so fair they should

have veiled.

None shall possess me but he,' added she; 'for his cheek is

smooth and the water of his mouth sweet as Selsebil;[FN#15] his

sight is a cure for the sick and his charms confound poet and

proser, even as saith one of him:

The water of his mouth is wine, and very musk The fragrance of

his breath; his teeth are camphor white.

Rizwan hath put him our from paradise, for fear The black-eyed

girls of heaven be tempted with the wight.

Men blame him for his pride; but the full moon's excuse, How

proud so'er it be, finds favour in our sight.

Him of the curling locks and rose-red cheeks and enchanting

glances, of whom saith the poet:

A slender loveling promised me his favours fair and free; So my

heart's restless and my eye looks still his sight to see.

His eyelids warranted me the keeping of his troth; But how shall

they, that bankrupt[FN#16] are, fulfil their warranty?

And as saith another:

"The script of whiskers on his cheek," quoth they, "is plain to

see: How canst thou then enamoured be of him, and whiskered

he?"

Quoth I, "Have done with blame and leave your censuring, I pray.

As if it be a very script, it is a forgery.

Lo, in the gathering of his cheeks the meads of Eden be, And more

by token that his lips are Kauther,[FN#17], verily."

When the broker heard the verses she repeated on the charms of

Ali Shar, he marvelled at her eloquence, no less than at the

brightness of her beauty; but her owner said to him, 'Marvel not

at her beauty, that shames the sun of day, nor that her mind is

stored with the choicest verses of the poets; for, besides this,

she can repeat the glorious Koran, according to the seven

readings, and the august Traditions, after the authentic text;

and she writes the seven hands and is versed in more branches of

knowledge than the most learned doctor. Moreover, her hands are

better than gold and silver; for she makes curtains of silk and

sells them for fifty dinars each; and it takes her eight days to

make a curtain.' 'Happy the man,' exclaimed the broker, 'who hath

her in his house and maketh her of his privy treasures!' And her

owner said, 'Sell her to whom she will.' So the broker went up to

Ali Shar and kissing his hands, said to him, 'O my lord, buy thou

this damsel, for she hath made choice of thee.' Then he set forth

to him all her charms and accomplishments, and added: 'I give

thee joy, if thou buy her, for she is a gift from Him who is no

niggard of His giving.'

Ali bowed his head awhile, laughing to himself and saying

inwardly, 'Up to now I have not broken my fast; yet I am ashamed

to own before the merchants that I have no money wherewith to buy

her.' The damsel, seeing him hang down his head, said to the

broker, 'Take my hand and lead me to him, that I may show myself

to him and tempt him to buy me; for I will not be sold to any but

him.' So the broker took her hand and stationed her before Ali

Shar, saying, 'What is thy pleasure, O my lord?' But he made him

no answer, and the girl said to him, 'O my lord and darling of my

heart, what ails thee that thou wilt not bid for me? Buy me for

what thou wilt, and I will bring thee good fortune.' Ali raised

his eyes to her and said, 'Must I buy thee perforce? Thou art

dear at one thousand dinars.' 'Then buy me for nine hundred,'

answered she. 'Nay,' rejoined he; and she said, 'Then for eight

hundred;' and ceased not to abate the price, till she came to a

hundred dinars. Quoth he, 'I have not quite a hundred dinars.'

'How much dost thou lack of a hundred?' asked she, laughing. 'By

Allah,' replied he, 'I have neither a hundred dinars, nor any

other sum; for I own neither white money nor red, neither dinar

nor dirhem. So look out for another customer.' When she knew that

he had nothing, she said to him, 'Take me by the hand and carry

me aside into a passage, as if thou wouldst examine me privily.'

He did so and she took from her bosom a purse containing a

thousand dinars, which she gave him saying, 'Pay down nine

hundred to my price and keep the rest to provide us withal.'

He did as she bade him and buying her for nine hundred dinars,

paid down the price from the purse and carried her to his house,

which when she entered, she found nothing but bare floors,

without carpets or vessels. So she gave him other thousand

dinars, saying, 'Go to the bazaar and buy three hundred dinars'

worth of furniture and vessels for the house and three dinars'

worth of meat and drink, also a piece of silk, the size of a

curtain, and gold and silver thread and [sewing] silk of seven

colours.' He did her bidding, and she furnished the house and

they sat down to eat and drink; after which they went to bed and

took their pleasure, one of the other. And they lay the night

embraced and were even as saith the poet:

Cleave fast to her thou lov'st and let the envious rail amain;

For calumny and envy ne'er to favour love were fain.

Lo, whilst I slept, in dreams I saw thee lying by my side And

from thy lips the sweetest, sure, of limpid springs did

drain.

Yea, true and certain all I saw is, as I will avouch, And 'spite

the envier, thereto I surely will attain.

There is no goodlier sight, indeed, for eyes to look upon, Than

when one couch in its embrace enfoldeth lovers twain,

Each to the other's bosom clasped, clad in their twinned delight,

Whilst hand with hand and arm with arm about their necks

enchain.

Lo, when two hearts are straitly knit in passion and desire, But

on cold iron smite the folk who chide at them in vain.

Thou, that for loving censurest the votaries of love, Canst thou

assain a heart diseased or heal a cankered brain?

If in thy time thou find but one to love thee and be true, I rede

thee cast the world away and with that one remain.

They lay together till the morning and love for the other was

stablished in the heart of each of them. On the morrow, Zumurrud

took the curtain and embroidered it with coloured silks and gold

and silver thread, depicting thereon all manner birds and beasts;

nor is there in the world a beast but she wrought on the curtain

the semblant thereof. Moreover, she made thereto a band, with

figures of birds, and wrought at it eight days, till she had made

an end of it, when she trimmed it and ironed it and gave it to

Ali, saying, 'Carry it to the bazaar and sell it to one of the

merchants for fifty dinars; but beware lest thou sell it to a

passer-by, for this would bring about a separation between us,

because we have enemies who are not unmindful of us.' 'I hear and

obey,' answered he and repairing to the bazaar, sold the curtain

to a merchant, as she bade him; after which he bought stuff for

another curtain and silk and gold and silver thread as before and

what they needed of food, and brought all this to her, together

with the rest of the money.

They abode thus a whole year, and every eight days she made a

curtain, which he sold for fifty dinars. At the end of the year,

he went to the bazaar, as usual, with a curtain, which he gave to

the broker; and there came up to him a Christian, who bid him

threescore dinars for the curtain; but he refused, and the

Christian went on to bid higher and higher, till he came to a

hundred dinars and bribed the broker with ten gold pieces. So the

latter returned to Ali and told him of this and urged him to

accept the offer, saying, 'O my lord, be not afraid of this

Christian, for he can do thee no hurt.' The merchants also were

instant with him to accept the offer; so he sold the curtain to

the Christian, though his heart misgave him, and taking the

price, set off to return home.

Presently, he found the Christian walking behind him; so he said

to him, 'O Nazarene, why dost thou follow me?' 'O my lord,'

answered the other, 'I have a need at the end of the street, may

God never bring thee to need!' Ali went on, but, as he came to

the door of his house, the Christian overtook him; so he said to

him, 'O accursed one, what ails thee to follow me wherever I go?'

'O my lord,' replied the other, 'give me a draught of water, for

I am athirst; and with God the Most High be thy reward!' Quoth

Ali in himself, 'Verily, this man is a tributary [of the

Khalifate] and seeks a draught of water of me; by Allah, I will

not disappoint him!' So he entered the house and took a mug of

water; but Zumurrud saw him and said to him, 'O my love, hast

thou sold the curtain?' 'Yes,' answered he. 'To a merchant or a

passer-by?' asked she. 'For my heart forethinketh me of

separation.' 'To a merchant, of course,' replied he. But she

rejoined, 'Tell me the truth of the case, that I may order my

affair; and what wantest thou with the mug of water?' 'To give

the broker a drink,' answered he; whereupon she exclaimed, 'There

is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!'

And repeated the following verses:

O thou that seekest parting, stay thy feet: Let clips and kisses

not delude thy spright.

Softly, for fortune's nature is deceit And parting is the end of

love-delight.

Then he took the mug and going out, found the Christian within

the vestibule and said to him, 'O dog, how darest thou enter my

house without my leave?' 'O my lord,' answered he, 'there is no

difference between the door and the vestibule and I will not

budge hence, save to go out; and I am beholden to thee for thy

kindness.' Then he took the mug and emptying it, returned it to

Ali, who took it and waited for him to go; but he did not move.

So Ali said to him, 'Why dost thou not rise and go thy way?' 'O

my lord,' answered the Christian, 'be not of those that do a

kindness and after make a reproach of it, nor one of whom saith

the poet:

Gone, gone are they who, if thou stoodst before their door of

old, Had, at thy seeking, handselled thee with benefits

untold!

And if thou stoodest at their door who follow after them, These

latter would begrudge to thee a draught of water cold.

O my lord,' continued he, 'I have drunk, and now I would have

thee give me to eat of whatever is in the house, though it be but

a crust of bread or a biscuit and an onion.' 'Begone, without

more talk,' replied Ali; 'There is nothing in the house.' 'O my

lord,' insisted the Christian, 'if there be nothing in the house,

take these hundred dinars and fetch us somewhat from the market,

if but a cake of bread, that bread and salt may pass between us.'

With this, quoth Ali to himself, 'This Christian is surely mad; I

will take the hundred dinars and bring somewhat worth a couple of

dirhems and laugh at him.' 'O my lord,' added the Christian, 'I

want but somewhat to stay my hunger, were it but a cake of dry

bread and an onion; for the best food is that which does away

hunger, not rich meats; and how well saith the poet:

A cake of dry stale bread will hunger out to flight: Why then are

grief and care so heavy on my spright?

Death is, indeed, most just, since, with an equal hand, Khalif

and beggar-wretch, impartial, it doth smite.'

Then said Ali, 'Wait here, whilst I lock the saloon and fetch

thee somewhat from the market.' 'I hear and obey,' said the

Christian. So Ali shut up the saloon and locking the door with a

padlock, put the key in his pocket: after which he repaired to

the market and bought fried cheese and virgin honey and bananas

and bread, with which he returned to the Christian. When the

latter saw this, he said, 'O my lord, this is [too] much; thou

hast brought enough for half a score men and I am alone; but

belike thou wilt eat with me.' 'Eat by thyself,' replied Ali; 'I

am full.' 'O my lord,' rejoined the Christian, 'the wise say, "He

who eats not with his guest is a base-born churl."'

When Ali heard this, he sat down and ate a little with him, after

which he would have held his hand: but [whilst he was not

looking] the Christian took a banana and peeled it, then,

splitting it in twain, put into one half concentrated henbane,

mixed with opium, a drachm whereof would overthrow an elephant.

This half he dipped in the honey and gave to Ali Shar, saying, 'O

my lord, I swear by thy religion that thou shalt take this.' Ali

was ashamed to make him forsworn; so he took the half banana and

swallowed it; but hardly had it reached his stomach, when his

head fell down in front of his feet and he was as though he had

been a year asleep.

When the Nazarene saw this, he rose, as he had been a bald wolf

or a baited cat, and taking the saloon key, made off at a run,

leaving Ali Shar prostrate. Now this Christian was the brother of

the decrepit old man who thought to buy Zumurrud for a thousand

dinars, but she would have none of him and flouted him in verse.

He was an infidel at heart, though a Muslim in outward show, and

called himself Reshideddin;[FN#18] and when Zumurrud mocked him

and would not accept of him to her lord, he complained to his

brother, the aforesaid Christian, Bersoum by name, who said to

him, 'Fret not thyself about this affair; for I will make shift

to get her for thee, without paying a penny.'

Now he was a skilful sorcerer crafty and wicked; so he watched

his time and played Ali Shar the trick aforesaid; then, taking

the key, he went to his brother and told him what had passed,

whereupon Reshideddin mounted his mule and repaired with his

servants to Ali Shar's house, taking with him a purse of a

thousand dinars, wherewith to bribe the master of police, should

he meet him. He unlocked the saloon door, and the men who were

with him rushed in upon Zumurrud and seized her, threatening her

with death if she spoke; but they left the house as it was and

took nothing therefrom. Moreover, they laid the key by Ali's side

and leaving him lying in the vestibule, shut the door on him and

went away. The Christian carried the girl to his own house and

setting her amongst his women and concubines, said to her, 'O

strumpet, I am the old man, whom thou did reject and lampoon; but

now I have thee, without paying a penny.' 'God requite thee, O

wicked old man,' replied she, with her eyes full of tears, 'for

sundering my lord and me!' 'Wanton doxy that thou art,' rejoined

he,' thou shalt see how I will punish thee! By the virtue of the

Messiah and the Virgin, except thou obey me and embrace my faith,

I will torture thee with all manner of torture!' 'By Allah,'

answered she, 'though thou cut me in pieces, I will not forswear

the faith of Islam! It may be God the Most High will bring me

speedy relief, for He is all-powerful, and the wise say, "Better

hurt in body than in religion."'

Thereupon the old man called out to his eunuchs and women,

saying, 'Throw her down!' So they threw her down and he beat her

grievously, whilst she cried in vain for help, but presently

stinted and fell to saying, 'God is my sufficiency, and He is

indeed sufficient!' till her breath failed her and she swooned

away. When he had taken his fill of beating her, he said to the

eunuchs, 'Drag her forth by the feet and cast her down in the

kitchen, and give her nothing to eat.' They did his bidding, and

on the morrow the accursed old man sent for her and beat her

again, after which he bade return her to her place. When the pain

of the blows had subsided, she said, 'There is no god but God and

Mohammed is His Apostle! God is my sufficiency and excellent is

He in whom I put my trust!' And she called upon our lord Mohammed

(whom God bless and preserve) for succour.

Meanwhile, Ali Shar slept on till next day, when the fumes of the

henbane quitted his brain and he awoke and cried out, 'O

Zumurrud!' But none answered him. So he entered the saloon and

found 'the air empty and the place of visitation distant;'[FN#19]

whereby he knew that it was the Nazarene, who had played him this

trick. And he wept and groaned and lamented and repeated the

following verses:

O Fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me: Lo, for my soul

is racked with dolour and despite!

Have pity, O my lords, upon a slave laid low, Upon the rich made

poor by love and its unright.

What boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draw near, His

bowstring snap and leave him helpless in the fight?

And when afflictions press and multiply on man, Ah, whither then

shall he from destiny take flight?

How straitly did I guard 'gainst severance of our loves! But,

when as Fate descends, it blinds the keenest sight.

Then he sobbed and repeated these verses also:

Her traces on the encampment's sands a robe of grace bestow: The

mourner yearneth to the place where she dwelt whiles ago.

Towards her native land she turns; a camp in her doth raise

Longing, whose very ruins now are scattered to and fro.

She stops and questions of the place; but with the case's tongue

It answers her, "There is no way to union, I trow.

'Tis as the lost a Levin were, that glittered on the camp Awhile,

then vanished and to thee appeareth nevermo'."

And he repented, whenas repentance availed him not, and wept and

tore his clothes. Then he took two stones and went round the

city, beating his breast with the stones and crying out, 'O

Zumurrud!' whilst the children flocked round him, calling out, 'A

madman! A madman!' and all who knew him wept for him, saying,

'Yonder is such an one: what hath befallen him?' This he did all

that day, and when night darkened on him, he lay down in one of

the by-streets and slept till morning. On the morrow, he went

round about the city with the stones till eventide, when he

returned to his house, to pass the night. One of his neighbours,

a worthy old woman, saw him and said to him, 'God keep thee, O my

son! How long hast thou been mad?' And he answered her with the

following verse:

Quoth they, "Thou'rt surely mad for her thou lov'st;" and I

replied, "Indeed the sweets of life belong unto the raving

race.

My madness leave and bring me her for whom ye say I'm mad; And if

she heal my madness, spare to blame me for my case."

Therewith she knew him for a lover who had lost his mistress and

said, 'There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High,

the Supreme! O my son, I would have thee acquaint me with the

particulars of thine affliction. Peradventure God may enable me

to help thee against it, if it so please Him.' So he told her all

that had happened and she said, 'O my son, indeed thou hast

excuse.' And her eyes ran over with tears and she repeated the

following verses:

Torment, indeed, in this our world, true lovers do aby; Hell

shall not torture them, by God, whenas they come to die!

Of love they died and to the past their passions chastely hid; So

are they martyrs, as, indeed, traditions[FN#20] testify.

Then she said, 'O my son, go now and buy me a basket, such as the

jewel-hawkers carry, and stock it with rings and bracelets and

ear-rings and other women's gear, and spare not money. Bring all

this to me and I will set it on my head and go round about, in

the guise of a huckstress, and make search for her in all the

houses, till I light on news of her, if it be the will of God the

Most High.' Ali rejoiced in her words and kissed her hands, then,

going out, speedily returned with all she required; whereupon she

rose and donning a patched gown and a yellow veil, took a staff

in her hand and set out, with the basket on her head.

She ceased not to go from quarter to quarter and street to street

and house to house, till God the Most High led her to the house

of the accursed Reshideddin the Nazarene. She heard groans within

and knocked at the door, whereupon a slave-girl came down and

opening the door to her, saluted her. Quoth the old woman, 'I

have these trifles for sale: is there any one with you who will

buy aught of them?' 'Yes,' answered the girl and carrying her

indoors, made her sit down; whereupon all the women came round

her and each bought something of her. She spoke to them fair and

was easy with them as to price, so that they rejoiced in her,

because of her pleasant speech and easiness. Meanwhile, she

looked about to see who it was she had heard groaning, till her

eyes fell on Zumurrud, when she knew her and saw that she was

laid prostrate. So she wept and said to the girls, 'O my

children, how comes yonder damsel in this plight?' And they told

her what had passed, adding, 'Indeed, the thing is not of our

choice; but our master commanded us to do this, and he is now

absent on a journey.' 'O my children,' said the old woman, 'I

have a request to make of you, and it is that you loose this

unhappy woman of her bonds, till you know of your lord's return,

when do ye bind her again as she was; and you shall earn a reward

from the Lord of all creatures.' 'We hear and obey,' answered

they and loosing Zumurrud, gave her to eat and drink.

Then said the old woman, 'Would my leg had been broken, ere I

entered your house!' And she went up to Zumurrud and said to her,

'O my daughter, take heart; God will surely bring thee relief.'

Then she told her [privily] that she came from her lord Ali Shar

and appointed her to be on the watch that night, saying, 'Thy

lord will come to the bench under the gallery and whistle to

thee; and when thou hearest him, do thou whistle back to him and

let thyself down to him by a rope from the window, and he will

take thee and go away.' Zumurrud thanked the old woman, and the

latter returned to Ali Shar and told him what she had done,

saying, 'Go to-night, at midnight, to such a quarter,--for the

accursed fellow's house is there and its fashion is thus and

thus. Stand under the window of the upper chamber and whistle;

whereupon she will let herself down to thee; then do thou take

her and carry her whither thou wilt.' He thanked her for her good

offices and repeated the following verses, with the tears running

down his cheeks:

Let censors cease to rail and chide and leave their idle prate:

My body's wasted and my heart weary and desolate;

And from desertion and distress my tears, by many a chain Of true

traditions handed down, do trace their lineage straight.

Thou that art whole of heart and free from that which I endure Of

grief and care, cut short thy strife nor question of my

state.

A sweet-lipped maiden, soft of sides and moulded well of shape,

With her soft speech my heart hath ta'en, ay, and her

graceful gait.

My heart, since thou art gone, no rest knows nor my eyes do

sleep, Nor can the hunger of my hopes itself with patience

sate.

Yea, thou hast left me sorrowful, the hostage of desire, 'Twixt

enviers and haters dazed and all disconsolate.

As for forgetting, 'tis a thing I know not nor will know; For

none but thou into my thought shalt enter, soon or late.

Then he sighed and shed tears and repeated these also:

May God be good to him who brought me news that ye were come! For

never more delightful news unto my ears was borne.

If he would take a worn-out wede for boon, I'd proffer him A

heart that at the parting hour was all in pieces torn.

He waited until the appointed time, then went to the street,

where was the Christian's house, and recognizing it from the old

woman's description, sat down on the bench under the gallery.

Presently, drowsiness overcame him, for it was long since he had

slept, for the violence of his passion, and he became as one

drunken with sleep. Glory be to Him who sleepeth not!

Meanwhile, chance led thither a certain thief, who had come out

that night to steal somewhat and prowled about the skirts of the

city, till he happened on Reshideddin's house. He went round

about it, but found no way of climbing up into it and presently

came to the bench, where he found Ali Shar asleep and took his

turban. At that moment, Zumurrud looked out and seeing the thief

standing in the darkness, took him for her lord; so she whistled

to him and he whistled back to her; whereupon she let herself

down to him, with a pair of saddle-bags full of gold. When the

robber saw this, he said to himself, 'This is a strange thing,

and there must needs be some extraordinary cause to it.' Then,

snatching up the saddle-bags, he took Zumurrud on his shoulders

and made off with both like the blinding lightning.

Quoth she, 'The old woman told me that thou wast weak with

illness on my account; and behold, thou art stronger than a

horse.' He made her no reply; so she put her hand to his face and

felt a beard like a bath-broom,[FN#21] as he were a hog that had

swallowed feathers and they had come out at his gullet; whereat

she took fright and said to him, 'What art thou?' 'O strumpet,'

answered he, 'I am the sharper Jewan the Kurd, of the band of

Ahmed ed Denef; we are forty sharpers, who will all tilt at thy

tail this night, from dusk to dawn.' When she heard his words,

she wept and buffeted her face, knowing that Fate had gotten the

better of her and that there was nothing for it but to put her

trust in God the Most High. So she took patience and submitted

herself to the ordinance of God, saying, 'There is no god but

God! As often as we escape from one trouble, we fall into a

worse.'

Now the manner of Jewan's coming thither was thus: he had said to

Ahmed ed Denef, 'O captain, I have been here before and know a

cavern without the town, that will hold forty souls; so I will go

before you thither and set my mother therein. Then will I enter

the city and steal somewhat on your account and keep it till you

come; so shall you be my guests this day.' 'Do what thou wilt,'

replied Ahmed. So Jewan forewent them to the cavern and left his

mother there; but, as he came out, he found a trooper lying

asleep, with his horse tethered beside him; so he slew him and

taking his clothes and arms, hid them with his mother in the

cave, where also he tied up the horse. Then he betook himself to

the city and prowled about, till he happened on the Christian's

house and did with Ali Shar and Zumurrud as we have said. He

ceased not to run, with Zumurrud on his back, till he came to the

cavern, where he gave her in charge of his mother, saying, 'Keep

watch over her till I come back to thee at point of day,' and

went away.

Meanwhile Zumurrud said to herself, 'Now is the time to cast

about for a means of escape. If I wait till these forty men come,

they will take their turns at me, till they make me like a water-

logged ship.' Then she turned to the old woman and said to her,

'O my aunt, wilt thou not come without the cave, that I may louse

thee in the sun?' 'Ay, by Allah, O my daughter!' replied the old

woman. 'This long time have I been out of reach of the bath; for

these hogs cease not to hale me from place to place.' So they

went without the cavern, and Zumurrud combed out the old woman's

hair and killed the vermin in her head, till this soothed her and

she fell asleep; whereupon Zumurrud arose and donning the clothes

of the murdered trooper, girt herself with his sword and covered

her head with his turban, so that she became as she were a man.

Then she took the saddle-bags full of gold and mounted the horse,

saying in herself, 'O kind Protector, I adjure thee by the glory

of Mohammed, (whom God bless and preserve,) protect me! If I

enter the city, belike one of the trooper's folk will see me, and

no good will befall me.' So she turned her back on the city and

rode forth into the desert.

She fared on ten days, eating of the fruits of the earth and

drinking of its waters, she and her horse; and on the eleventh

day, she came in sight of a pleasant and safe city, stablished in

good; the season of winter had departed from it with its cold and

the spring-tide came to it with its roses and orange-blossoms;

its flowers blew bright, its streams welled forth and its birds

warbled. As she drew near, she saw the troops and Amirs and

notables of the place drawn up before the gate, at which she

marvelled and said to herself, 'The people of the city are all

collected at the gate: there must needs be a reason for this.'

Then she made towards them; but, as she drew near, the troops

hastened forward to meet her and dismounting, kissed the ground

before her and said, 'God aid thee, O our lord the Sultan!'

Then the grandees ranked themselves before her, whilst the troops

ranged the people in order, saying, 'God aid thee and make thy

coming a blessing to the Muslims, O Sultan of all men! God

stablish thee, O king of the age and pearl of the day and the

time!' 'What ails you, O people of the city?' asked Zumurrud; and

the chamberlain answered, 'Verily, He who is no niggard in giving

hath been bountiful to thee and hath made thee Sultan of this

city and ruler over the necks of all that are therein; for know

that it is the custom of the citizens, when their king dies,

leaving no son, that the troops should sally forth of the pace

and abide there three days; and whoever cometh from the quarter

whence thou hast come, they make him king over them. So praised

be God who hath sent us a well-favoured man of the sons of the

Turks; for had a lesser than thou presented himself, he had been

Sultan.'

Now Zumurrud was well-advised in all she did; so she said, 'Think

not that I am of the common folk of the Turks; nay, I am a man of

condition; but I was wroth with my family, so I went forth and

left them. See these saddle-bags full of gold I brought with me,

that I might give alms thereof to the poor and needy by the way.'

So they called down blessings upon her and rejoiced in her with

an exceeding joy and she also rejoiced in them and said in

herself, 'Now that I have attained to this estate, it may be God

will reunite me with my lord in this place, for He can do what He

will.' Then the troops escorted her to the city and dismounting,

walked before her to the palace. Here she alighted and the Amirs

and grandees, taking her under the armpits, carried her into the

palace and seated her on the throne; after which they all kissed

the ground before her. Then she bade open the treasuries and gave

largesse to the troops, who offered up prayers for the continuance

of her reign, and all the townsfolk and the people of the kingdom

accepted her rule.

She abode thus awhile, ordering and forbidding, and remitted

taxes and released prisoners and redressed grievances, so that

all the people came to hold her in exceeding reverence and to

love her, by reason of her generosity and continence; but, as

often as she bethought her of her lord, she wept and besought God

to reunite them; and one night, as she was thinking of him and

calling to mind the days she had passed with him, her eyes ran

over with tears and she repeated the following verses:

My longing, 'spite of time, for thee is ever new; My weeping

wounds my lids and tears on tears ensue.

Whenas I weep, I weep for anguish of desire; For grievous

severance is a lover's heart unto.

Then she wiped away her tears and rising, betook herself to the

harem, where she appointed to the slave-girls and concubines

separate lodgings and assigned them pensions and allowances,

giving out that she was minded to live apart and devote herself

to works of piety. So she betook herself to fasting and praying,

till the Amirs said, 'Verily, this Sultan is exceeding devout.'

Nor would she suffer any attendants about her, save two little

eunuchs, to serve her.

She held the throne thus a whole year, during which time she

heard no news of Ali Shar, and this was exceeding grievous to

her; so, when her distress became excessive, she summoned her

Viziers and chamberlains and bid them fetch architects and

builders and make her a tilting ground, a parasang long and the

like broad, in front of the palace. They hastened to do her

bidding, and when the place was competed to her liking, she went

down into it and they pitched her there a great pavilion, wherein

the chairs of the Amirs were set in their order. Then she bade

spread in the tilting-ground tables with all manner rich meats

and ordered the grandees to eat. So they ate and she said to

them, 'It is my will that, on the first day of each month, ye do

on this wise and proclaim in the city that none shall open his

shop, but that all the people shall come and eat of the king's

banquet, and that whoso disobeyeth shall be hanged over his own

door.'

They did as she bade them, and when came the first day of the

next month, Zumurrud went down into the tilting-ground and the

crier proclaimed aloud, saying, 'Ho, all ye people, great and

small, whoso openeth shop or house or magazine shall straightway

be hanged over his own door; for it behoves you all to come and

eat of the king's banquet.' Then they laid the tables and the

people came in troops; so she bade them sit down at the tables

and eat their fill of all the dishes. So they sat down and she

sat on her chair of estate, watching them, whilst each thought

she was looking at none but him. Then they fell to eating and the

Amirs said to them, 'Eat and be not ashamed; for this is pleasing

to the King.' So they ate their fill and went away, blessing the

King and saying, one to the other, 'Never saw we a Sultan that

loved the poor as doth this Sultan.' And they wished her length

of life, whilst Zumurrud returned to the palace, rejoicing in her

device and saying in herself, 'If it please God the Most High, I

shall surely by this means happen on news of my lord Ali Shar.'

When the first day of the second month came round, she made the

banquet as before and the folk came and sat down at the tables,

company by company and one by one. As she sat on her throne, at

the head of the tables, watching the people eat, her eye fell on

Bersoum, the Nazarene who had bought the curtain of Ali Shar; and

she knew him and said in herself, 'This is the first of my solace

and of the accomplishment of my desire.' Bersoum came up to the

table and sitting down with the rest to eat, espied a dish of

sweet rice, sprinkled with sugar; but it was far from him. So he

pushed up to it and putting out his hand to it, took it and set

it before himself. His next neighbour said to him, 'Why dost thou

not eat of what is before thee? Art thou not ashamed to reach

over for a dish that is distant from thee?' Quoth Bersoum, 'I

will eat of none but this dish.' 'Eat then,' rejoined the other,

'and small good may it do thee!' But another man, a hashish-

eater, said, 'Let him eat of it, that I may eat with him.' 'O

unluckiest of hashish-eaters,' replied the first speaker, 'this

is no meat for thee; it is eating for Amirs. Let it be, that it

may return to those for whom it is meant and they eat it.'

But Bersoum heeded him not and putting his hand to the rice, took

a mouthful and put it in his mouth. He was about to take a second

mouthful, when Zumurrud, who was watching him, cried out to

certain of her guards, saying, 'Bring me yonder man with the dish

of sweet rice before him and let him not eat the mouthful he hath

ready, but throw it from his hand.' So four of the guards went up

to Bersoum and throwing the mouthful of rice from his hand, haled

him forthright before Zumurrud, whilst all the people left eating

and said to one another, 'By Allah, he did wrong in not eating of

the food meant for the like of him.' 'For me,' quoth one, 'I was

content with this frumenty that is before me.' And the hashish-

eater said, 'Praised be God who hindered me from eating of the

dish of sweet rice, for I looked for it to stand before him and

was only waiting for him to have stayed his hunger of it, to eat

with him, when there befell him what we see.' And they said, one

to another, 'Wait till we see what befalls him.'

Then said Zumurrud to Bersoum, 'Out on thee, O blue eyes! What is

thy name and why comest thou hither?' But the accursed fellow

miscalled himself, having a white turban,[FN#22] and answered, 'O

King, my name is Ali; I am a weaver and came hither to trade.'

'Bring me a table of sand and a pen of brass,' quoth Zumurrud,

and they brought her what she sought. She levelled the sand and

taking the pen, drew a geomantic figure, in the likeness of an

ape; then, raising her head, she considered Bersoum straitly and

said to him, 'O dog, how darest thou lie to kings? Art thou not a

Nazarene, Bersoum by name, and comest thou not hither in quest of

somewhat? Speak the truth, or, by the splendour of the Deity, I

will strike off thy head?' At this, Bersoum was confounded and

the Amirs and bystanders said, 'Verily, the King understands

geomancy: blessed be He who hath gifted him!' Then Zumurrud cried

out upon Bersoum and said, 'Tell me the truth, or I will make an

end of thee!' 'Pardon, O King of the age,' replied Bersoum; 'the

table hath told thee aright; thy slave is indeed a Nazarene.'

Whereupon all present wondered at the King's skill in geomancy,

saying, 'Verily, the King is a diviner, whose like there is not

in the world.'

Then Zumurrud bade flay the Christian and stuff his skin with

straw and hang it over the gate of the tilting-ground. Moreover,

she commanded to dig a pit without the city and burn his flesh

and bones therein and throw over his ashes offal and rubbish. 'We

hear and obey,' answered they and did with him as she bade. When

the people saw what had befallen the Christian, they said, 'He

hath his deserts; but what an unlucky mouthful was that for him!'

And another said, 'Be my wife triply divorced if ever I eat of

sweet rice as long as I live!' 'Praised be God,' quoth the

hashish-eater, 'who saved me from this fellow's fate by hindering

me from eating of the rice!' Then they all went out, minded

thenceforth to leave sitting in the Christian's place, over

against the dish of sweet rice.

When the first day of the third month came, they laid the tables

as of wont, and Queen Zumurrud came down and sat on her throne,

with her guards in attendance on her, fearing her danger. Then

the townsfolk entered, as usual, and went round about the tables,

looking for the place of the dish of sweet rice, and quoth one to

another, 'Hark ye, Hajji Khelef!' 'At thy service, O Hajji

Khalid,' answered the other. 'Avoid the dish of sweet rice,' said

Khalid, 'and look thou eat not thereof; for if thou do, thou wilt

be hanged.' Then they sat down to meat; and as they were eating,

Zumurrud chanced to look at the gate of the tilting-ground and

saw a man come running in. So she considered him and knew him for

Jewan the Kurd.

Now the manner of his coming was on this wise. When he left his

mother, he went to his comrades and said to them, 'I had fine

purchase yesterday; for I slew a trooper and took his horse.

Moreover there fell to me last night a pair of saddle-bags, full

of gold, and a girl worth more than the money; and I have left

them all with my mother in the cave.' At this they rejoiced and

repaired to the cavern at nightfall, whilst they forewent them,

that he might fetch them the booty. But he found the place empty

and questioned his mother, who told him what had befallen;

whereupon he bit his hands for despite and exclaimed, 'By Allah,

I will make search for yonder harlot and take her, wherever she

is, though it be in the shell of a pistachio-nut, and quench my

malice on her!' So he went forth in quest of her and journeyed

from place to place, till he came to Queen Zumurrud's city. He

found the town deserted and enquiring of some women whom he saw

looking from the windows, learnt that it was the Sultan's custom

to make a banquet for all the people on the first of each month

and was directed to the tilting-ground, where the feast was

spread.

So he came running in and finding no place empty, save that

before the dish of sweet rice, took his seat there and put out

his hand to the dish; whereupon the folk cried out to him,

saying, 'O brother, what wilt thou do?' Quoth he, 'I mean to eat

my fill of this dish.' 'If thou eat of it,' rejoined one of the

people, 'thou wilt assuredly be hanged.' But Jewan said, 'Hold

thy peace and talk not thus.' Then he stretched out his hand to

the dish aforesaid and drew it to him.

Now the hashish-eater, of whom we have before spoken, was sitting

by him; but when he saw him do this, the fumes of the hashish

left his head and he fled from his place and sat down afar off,

saying, 'I will have nothing to do with yonder dish.' Then Jewan

put out his hand, as it were a crow's foot, and dipping it in the

dish, scooped up therewith half the dishful and drew it out, as

it were a camel's hoof, and the bottom of the dish appeared. He

rolled the rice in his hand, till it was like a great orange, and

threw it ravenously into his mouth; and it rolled down his

gullet, with a noise like thunder. 'Praised by God,' quoth his

neighbour, 'who hath not made me meat before thee; for thou hast

emptied the dish at one mouthful.' 'Let him eat,' said the

hashish-eater; 'methinks he hath a gallows-face.' Then, turning

to Jewan, 'Eat,' added he, 'and small good may it do thee!'

Jewan put out his hand again and taking another mouthful, was

rolling it in his hands like the first, when Zumurrud cried out

to the guards, saying, 'Bring me yonder man in haste and let him

not eat the mouthful in his hand.' So they ran and seizing him,

as he bent over the dish, brought him to her, whilst the people

exulted over him and said, one to the other, 'He hath his

deserts, for we warned him, but he would not take warning.

Verily, this place is fated to be the death of whoso sits

therein, and yonder rice is fatal to all who eat of it.'

Then said Zumurrud to Jewan, 'What is thy name and condition and

why comest thou hither?' 'O our lord the Sultan,' answered he,

'my name is Othman; I am a gardener and am come hither in quest

of somewhat I have lost.' 'Bring me a table of sand,' said

Zumurrud. So they brought it, and she took the pen and drawing a

geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head,

exclaimed, 'Out on thee, thou sorry knave! How darest thou lie to

kings? This sand tells me that thy name is Jewan the Kurd and

that thou art by trade a robber, taking men's goods in the way of

unright and slaying those whom God hath forbidden to slay, save

for just cause.' And she cried out upon him, saying, 'O hog, tell

me the truth of thy case or I will cut off thy head!'

When he heard this, he turned pale and his teeth chattered; then,

deeming that he might save himself by telling the truth, he

replied, 'O King, thou sayest sooth; but I repent at thy hands

henceforth and turn to God the Most High!' Quoth she, 'I may not

leave a pest in the way of the true-believers.' And she said to

her guards, 'Take him and flay him and do with him as ye did by

his like last month.' And they did her commandment. When the

hashish-eater saw this, he turned his back upon the dish of rice,

saying, 'It is unlawful to present my face to thee.' Then, when

they had made an end of eating, they dispersed and Zumurrud

returned to her palace and dismissed her attendants.

When the fourth month came round, they made the banquet, as of

wont, and the folk sat awaiting leave to begin. Presently

Zumurrud entered and sitting down on her throne, looked at the

tables and saw that room for four people was left void before the

dish of rice, at which she wondered. As she sat, looking around,

she saw a man come running in at the gate, who stayed not till he

reached the tables and finding no room, save before the dish of

rice, took his seat there. She looked at him and knowing him for

the accursed Christian, who called himself Reshideddin, said in

herself, 'How blessed is this device of the food, into whose

toils this infidel hath fallen!'

Now the manner of his coming was extraordinary, and it was on

this wise. When he returned from his journey, the people of the

house told him that Zumurrud was missing and with her a pair of

saddle-bags full of gold; whereupon he rent his clothes and

buffeted his face and plucked out his beard. Then he despatched

his brother Bersoum in quest of her, and when he was weary of

awaiting news of him, he went forth himself, to seek for him and

for Zumurrud, and fate led him to the latter's city. He entered

it on the first day of the month and finding the streets deserted

and the shops shut, enquired of the women at the windows, who

told him that the King made a banquet on the first of each month

for the people, all of whom were bound to attend it, nor might

any abide in his house or shop that day; and they directed him to

the tilting-ground.

So he betook himself thither and sitting down before the rice,

put out his hand to eat thereof, whereupon Zumurrud cried out to

her guards, saying, 'Bring me him who sits before the dish of

rice.' So they laid hands on him and brought him before Queen

Zumurrud, who said to him, 'Out on thee! What is thy name and

occupation, and what brings thee hither?' 'O King of the age,'

answered he, 'my name is Rustem and I have no occupation, for

I am a poor dervish.' Then said she to her attendants, 'Bring

me a table of sand and pen of brass.' So they brought her what

she sought, as usual; and she took the pen and drawing a

geomantic figure, considered it awhile, then raising her head to

Reshideddin, said, 'O dog, how darest thou lie to kings? Thy name

is Reshideddin the Nazarene; thou art outwardly a Muslim, but a

Christian at heart, and thine occupation is to lay snares for the

slave-girls of the Muslims and take them. Speak the truth, or

I will smite off thy head.' He hesitated and stammered, then

replied, 'Thou sayest sooth, O King of the age!' Whereupon she

commanded to throw him down and give him a hundred blows on each

sole and a thousand on his body; after which she bade flay him

and stuff his skin with hards of flax and dig a pit without the

city, wherein they should burn his body and cast dirt and rubbish

on his ashes. They did as she bade them and she gave the people

leave to eat.

So they ate their fill and went their ways, whilst Zumurrud

returned to her palace, thanking God for that He had solaced her

heart of those who had wronged her. Then she praised the Creator

of heaven and earth and repeated the following verses:

Lo, these erst had power and used it with oppression and unright!

In a little, their dominion was as it ne'er had been.

Had they used their power with justice, they had been repaid the

like; But they wrought unright and Fortune guerdoned them

with dole and teen.

So they perished and the moral of the case bespeaks them thus,

"This is what your crimes have earnt you: Fate is not to

blame, I ween."

Then she called to mind her lord Ali Shar and wept, but presently

recovered herself and said, 'Surely God, who hath given mine

enemies into my hand, will vouchsafe me speedy reunion with my

beloved; for He can do what He will and is generous to His

servants and mindful of their case!' Then she praised God (to

whom belong might and majesty) and besought forgiveness of Him,

submitting herself to the course of destiny, assured that to each

beginning there is an end, and repeating the saying of the poet:

Be at thine ease, for all things' destiny Is in His hands who

fashioned earth and sea.

Nothing of Him forbidden shall befall Nor aught of Him appointed

fail to thee.

And what another saith:

Let the days pass, as they list, and fare, And enter thou not the

house of despair.

Full oft, when the quest of a thing is hard, The next hour brings

us the end of our care.

And a third:

Be mild what time thou'rt ta'en with anger and despite And

patient, if there fall misfortune on thy head.

Indeed, the nights are quick and great with child by Time And of

all wondrous things are hourly brought to bed.

And a fourth:

Take patience, for therein is good; an thou be learn'd in it,

Thou shalt be calm of soul nor drink of anguish any whit.

And know that if, with a good grace, thou do not thee submit, Yet

must thou suffer, will or nill, that which the Pen hath

writ.

She abode thus another whole month's space, judging the folk and

commanding and forbidding by day, and by night weeping and

bewailing her separation from her lord Ali Shar. On the first day

of the fifth month, she bade spread the banquet as usual and sat

down at the head of the tables, whilst the people awaited the

signal to fall to, leaving the space before the dish of rice

vacant. She sat with eyes fixed upon the gate of the tilting-

ground, noting all who entered and saying, 'O Thou that

restoredst Joseph

to Jacob and didst away the affliction of Job, vouchsafe of Thy

power and greatness to restore me my lord Ali Shar; for Thou

canst all things! O Lord of all creatures, O Guide of the erring,

O Hearer of those that cry, O Answerer of prayer, answer Thou my

prayer, O Lord of all creatures!'

Hardly had she made an end of her prayer, when she saw entering

the gate a young man, in shape like the willow wand, the

comeliest and most accomplished of youths, save that his face was

sallow and his form wasted. He came up to the tables and finding

no seat vacant save before the dish of rice, sat down there;

whereupon Zumurrud's heart fluttered and observing him narrowly,

she knew him for her lord Ali Shar and was like to have cried out

for joy, but restrained herself, fearing disgrace before the

folk. Her bowels were troubled and her heart throbbed; but she

concealed that which she suffered.

Now the manner of his coming thither was on this wise. When

he awoke and found himself lying on the bench outside the

Christian's house, with his head bare, he knew that some one had

come upon him and robbed him of his turban, whilst he slept. So

he spoke the word, which whoso saith shall never be confounded,

that is to say, 'Verily, we are God's and to Him we return!' and

going back to the old woman's house, knocked at the door. She

came out and he wept before her, till he swooned away. When he

came to himself, he told her all that had passed, and she blamed

him and chid him for his heedlessness, saying, 'Thou hast but

thyself to thank for thine affliction and calamity.' And she

gave not over reproaching him, till the blood streamed from his

nostrils and he again fainted away. When he revived, he saw her

weeping over him; so he bewailed himself and repeated the

following verses:

How bitter is parting to friends, and how sweet Reunion to

lovers, for sev'rance that sigh!

May God all unite them and watch over me, For I'm of their number

and like for to die.

The old woman mourned over him and said to him, 'Sit here, whilst

I go in quest of news and return to thee in haste.' 'I hear and

obey,' answered he. So she left him and was absent till midday,

when she returned and said to him, 'O Ali, I fear me thou must

die in thy grief; thou wilt never see thy beloved again save on

Es Sirat;[FN#23] for the people of the Christian's house, when

they arose in the morning, found the window giving on the garden

broken in and Zumurrud missing, and with her a pair of saddle-

bags, full of the Christian's money. When I came thither, I found

the Master of Police and his officers standing at the door, and

there is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the

Supreme!'

When he heard this, the light in his eyes was changed to darkness

and he despaired of life and made sure of death; nor did he leave

weeping, till he lost his senses. When he recovered, love and

longing were sore upon him; there befell him a grievous sickness

and he kept his house a whole year; during which time the old

woman ceased not to bring him doctors and ply him with diet-

drinks and make him broths, till his life returned to him. Then

he recalled what had passed and repeated the following verses:

Union is parted; in its stead, of grief I am possessed: My tears

flow still, my heart's on fire for yearning and unrest.

Longing redoubles on a wight who hath no peace, so sore Of love

and wakefulness and pain he's wasted and oppressed.

Lord, I beseech Thee, if there be relief for me in aught,

Vouchsafe it, whilst a spark of life abideth in my breast.

When the second year began, the old woman said to him, 'O my son,

all this thy sadness and sorrowing will not bring thee back thy

mistress. Rise, therefore, take heart and seek for her in the

lands: haply thou shalt light on some news of her.' And she

ceased not to exhort and encourage him, till he took heart and

she carried him to the bath. Then she made him drink wine and eat

fowls, and thus she did with him for a whole month, till he

regained strength and setting out, journeyed without ceasing till

he arrived at Zumurrud's city, when he went to the tilting-ground

and sitting down before the dish of sweet rice, put out his hand

to eat of it.

When the folk saw this, they were concerned for him and said to

him, 'O young man, eat not of that dish, for whoso eats thereof,

misfortune befalls him.' 'Leave me to eat of it,' answered he,

'and let them do with me as they list, so haply I may be at rest

from this weary life.' Then he ate a first mouthful, and Zumurrud

was minded to have him brought to her; but bethought her that

belike he was anhungred and said in herself, 'It were well to let

him eat his fill.' So he went on eating, whilst the people looked

on in astonishment, waiting to see what would befall him; and

when he had done, Zumurrud said to certain of her eunuchs, 'Go to

yonder youth that eateth of the rice and bring him to me on

courteous wise, saying, 'The King would have speech of thee on

some slight matter.' 'We hear and obey,' answered they and going

up to Ali Shar, said to him, 'O my lord, the King desires the

favour of a word with thee, and let thy heart be easy.' 'I hear

and obey,' replied he and followed the eunuchs, who carried him

before Zumurrud, whilst the people said to one another, 'There is

no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme! I

wonder what the King will do with him!' And others said, 'He will

do him nought but good; for, were he minded to harm him, he had

not suffered him to eat his fill.'

When he came before Zumurrud, he saluted and kissed the earth

before her, whilst she returned his greeting and received him

with honour. Then said she to him, 'What is thy name and

condition and what brought thee hither?' 'O King,' answered he,

'my name is Ali Shar; I am of the sons of the merchants of

Khorassan and the object of my coming hither is to seek for a

slave-girl whom I have lost; for she was dearer to me than my

sight and my hearing, and indeed my soul cleaves to her, since I

lost her.' And he wept, till he swooned away. She caused sprinkle

rose-water on his face, till he came to himself, when she said,

'Bring me the table of sand and the pen.' So they brought them

and she took the pen and drew a geomantic figure, which she

considered awhile; then, 'Thou hast spoken sooth,' quoth she.

'God will grant thee speedy reunion with her; so be not

troubled.' Then she bade her chamberlain carry him to the bath

and after clothe him in a handsome suit of royal apparel, and

mount him an one of the best of the King's horses and bring him

to the palace at end of day. So the chamberlain took him away,

whilst the folk said to one another, 'What makes the King deal

thus courteously with yonder youth?' And one said, 'Did I not

tell you that he would do him no hurt? For he is fair of aspect;

and this I knew, when the King suffered him to eat his fill.' And

each said his say; after which they all dispersed and went their

ways.

As for Zumurrud, she thought the night would never come, that she

might be alone with the beloved of her heart. As soon as it was

dusk, she withdrew to her sleeping-chamber and made as she were

overcome with sleep; and it was her wont to suffer none to pass

the night with her, save the two little eunuchs that waited upon

her. After a little, she sent for Ali Shar and sat down upon the

bed, with candles burning at her head and feet and the place

lighted with hanging lamps of gold that shone like the sun. When

the people heard of her sending for Ali Shar, they marvelled and

said, 'Algates, the King is enamoured of this young man, and to-

morrow he will make him commander of the troops.' And each

thought his thought and said his say. When they brought him in to

her, he kissed the earth before her and called down blessings on

her, and she said in herself, 'Needs must I jest with him awhile,

ere I make myself known to him.' Then said she to him, 'O Ali,

hast thou been to the bath?' 'Yes, O my lord,' answered he.

'Come, eat of this fowl and meat and drink of this wine and

sherbet of sugar,' said she; 'for thou art weary; and after come

hither.' 'I hear and obey,' replied he and did as she bade him.

When he had made an end of eating and drinking, she said to him,

'Come up with me on the couch and rub my feet.' So he fell to

rubbing her feet and legs and found them softer than silk. Then

said she, 'Go higher with the rubbing;' and he, 'Pardon me, O my

lord, I will go no higher than the knee.' Whereupon, 'Wilt thou

gainsay me?' quoth she. 'It shall be an ill-omened night for

thee! Nay, but it behoves thee to do my bidding and I will make

thee my minion and appoint thee one of my Amirs.' 'And in what

must I do thy bidding, O King of the age?' asked Ali. 'Put off

thy trousers,' answered she, 'and lie down on thy face.' Quoth

he, 'That is a thing I never in my life did; and if thou force me

thereto, I will accuse thee thereof before God on the Day of

Resurrection. Take all thou hast given me and let me go to my own

city.' And he wept and lamented. But she said, 'Put off thy

trousers and lie down on thy face, or I will strike off thy

head.' So he did as she bade him and she mounted upon his back.

And he felt what was softer than silk and fresher than cream and

said in himself, 'Of a truth, this King is better than all the

women!'

She abode a while on his back, then turned over on to the ground,

and he said [in himself], 'Praised be God! It seems his yard is

not in point.' Then said she, 'O Ali, it is of the wont of my

yard that it standeth not on end, except it be rubbed with the

hand; so, some, rub it with thy hand, till it be in point, else

will I kill thee.' So saying, she lay down on her back and taking

his hand, set it to her kaze, and he found it a kaze softer than

silk, white, plump and great, resembling for heat the hot room of

the bath or the heart of a lover, whom passion hath wasted. Quoth

Ali in himself, 'Verily, this King hath a kaze. This is a wonder

of wonders!' And desire got hold on him and his yard stood on end

to the utmost; which when Zumurrud saw, she burst out laughing

and said to him, 'O my lord, all this betideth and yet thou

knowest me not!' 'And who art thou, O King?' asked he; and she

said, 'I am thy slave-girl Zumurrud.'

When he knew this and was certified that she was indeed his very

slave-girl Zumurrud, he threw himself upon her, as the lion upon

the sheep, and kissed her and embraced her. Then he thrust his

yard into her poke and stinted not to play the porter at her door

and the Imam[FN#24] at her prayer-niche, whilst she with him

ceased not from inclination and prostration and rising up and

sitting down,[FN#25] accompanying her canticles of praise[FN#26]

with motitations and other amorous gestures, till the [two

little] eunuchs [aforesaid] heard [the noise]. So they came and

peeping out from behind the curtains, saw the King lying [on his

back] and Ali Shar upon him, thrusting and thronging amain,

whilst she puffed and blew and wriggled. Quoth they, 'This is no

man's wriggle; belike this King is a woman.' But they concealed

their affair and discovered it to none.

On the morrow, Zumurrud summoned all the troops and the grandees

of the realm and said to them, 'I am minded to journey to this

man's country; so choose a deputy, who shall rule over you, till

I return to you.' And they answered, 'We hear and obey.' Then she

applied herself to making ready for the journey and furnished

herself with victual and treasure and camels and mules and so

forth; after which she set out with Ali Shar, and they fared on,

till they arrived at his native place, where he entered his house

and gave alms and largesse. God vouchsafed him children by her,

and they both lived the happiest of lives, till there came to

them the Destroyer of Delights and Sunderer of Companies. Glory

be to God, the Eternal without cease, and praised be He in every

case!

THE LOVES OF JUBEIR BEN UMEIR AND THE LADY

BUDOUR

It is related the Khalif Haroun er Reshid was restless one night

and could not sleep; so that he ceased not to toss from side to

side for very restlessness, till, growing weary of this, he

called Mesrour and said to him, 'O Mesrour, look what may solace

me of this my restlessness.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,'

answered Mesrour, 'wilt thou walk in the garden of the palace and

divert thyself with the sight of its flowers and gaze upon the

stars and note the beauty of their ordinance and the moon among

them, shining on the water?' 'O Mesrour,' replied the Khalif, 'my

heart inclines not to aught of this.' 'O my lord,' continued

Mesrour, 'there are in thy palace three hundred concubines, each

of whom hath her separate lodging. Do thou bid retire each into

her own apartment and then go thou about and divert thyself with

gazing on them, without their knowledge.' 'O Mesrour,' answered

Haroun, 'the palace is mine and the girls are my property:

moreover, my soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'O my lord,'

said Mesrour, 'summon the doctors and sages and poets and bid

them contend before thee in argument and recite verses and tell

thee tales and anecdotes.' 'My soul inclines not to aught of

this,' answered the Khalif; and Mesrour said, 'O my lord, bid the

minions and wits and boon-companions attend thee and divert thee

with witty sallies.' 'O Mesrour,' replied the Khalif, 'indeed my

soul inclineth not to aught of this.' 'Then, O my lord,' rejoined

Mesrour, 'strike off my head; maybe, that will dispel thine

unease and do away the restlessness that is upon thee.'

At this the Khalif laughed and said, 'See which of the boon-

companions is at the door.' So Mesrour went out and returning,

said, 'O my lord, he who sits without is Ali ben Mensour of

Damascus, the Wag.' 'Bring him to me,' quoth Haroun; and Mesrour

went out and returned with Ibn Mensour, who said, on entering,

'Peace be on thee, O Commander of the Faithful!' The Khalif

returned his salutation and said to him, 'O Ibn Mensour, tell us

one of thy stories.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' said the

other, 'shall I tell thee what I have seen with my eyes or what I

have only heard tell?' 'If thou have seen aught worth telling,'

replied the Khalif, 'let us hear it; for report is not like eye-

witness.' 'O Commander of the Faithful,' said Ibn Mensour, 'lend

me thine ear and thy heart.' 'O Ibn Mensour,' answered the

Khalif, 'behold, I am listening to thee with mine ears and

looking at thee with mine eyes and attending to thee with my

heart.'

'Know then, O Commander of the Faithful,' began Ibn Mensour,

'that I receive a yearly allowance from Mohammed ben Suleiman el

Hashimi, Sultan[FN#27] of Bassora; so I went to him, once upon a

time, as usual, and found him about to ride out a-hunting. I

saluted him, and he returned my salute and would have me mount and

go a-hunting with him; but I said, "O my lord, I cannot ride; so

do thou stablish me in the guest-house and give thy chamberlains

and officers charge over me." And he did so and departed for the

chase. His officers entreated me with the utmost honour and

hospitality; but I said in myself, "By Allah, it is a strange

thing that I should have used so long to come from Baghdad to

Bassora, yet know no more of the town than from the palace to

the garden and back again! When shall I find an occasion like

this to view the different parts of Bassora? I will rise at once

and walk forth alone and divert myself and digest what I have

eaten."

So I donned my richest clothes and went out a-walking in Bassora.

Now it is known to thee, O Commander of the Faithful, that it

hath seventy streets, each seventy parasangs long of Irak

measure; and I lost myself in its by-streets and thirst overcame

me. Presently, as I went along, I came to a great door, on which

were two rings of brass, with curtains of red brocade drawn

before it. Over the door was a trellis, covered with a creeping

vine, that hung down and shaded the doorway; and on either side

the porch was a stone bench. I stood still, to gaze upon the

place, and presently heard a sorrowful voice, proceeding from a

mourning heart, warbling melodiously and chanting the following

verses:

My body is become th' abode of sickness and dismay, By reason of

a fawn, whose land and stead are far away.

O zephyr of the waste, that roused my pain in me, I pray, By God

your Lord, to him, with whom my heart dwells, take your way

And prithee chide him, so reproach may soften him,

maybe.

And if to you he do incline and hearken, then make fair Your

speech and tidings unto him of lovers, 'twixt you, bear.

Yea, and vouchsafe to favour me with service debonair And unto

him I love make known my case and my despair,

Saying, "What ails thy bounden slave that, for

estrangement, she

Should die without offence of her committed or despite Or

disobedience or breach of plighted faith or slight

Or fraud or turning of her heart to other or unright?" And if he

smile, with dulcet speech bespeak ye thus the wight:

"An thou thy company wouldst grant to her, 'twere well

of thee;

For she for love of thee's distraught, as needs must be the case;

Her eyes are ever void of sleep; she weeps and wails apace."

If he show favour and incline to grant the wished-for grace, 'Tis

well and good; but, if ye still read anger in his face,

Dissemble then with him and say, "We know her not, not

we."

Quoth I to myself, "Verily, if the owner of this voice be fair,

she unites beauty of person and eloquence and sweetness of

voice." Then I drew near the door, and raising the curtain little

by little, beheld a damsel, white as the moon, when it rises on

its fourteenth night, with joined eyebrows and languorous

eyelids, breasts like twin pomegranates and dainty lips like twin

corn-marigolds,[FN#28] mouth as it were Solomon's seal and teeth

that sported with the reason of rhymester and proser, even as

saith the poet:

O mouth of the beloved, who set thy pearls arow And eke with

wine fulfilled thee and camomiles like show,

And lent the morning-glory unto thy smile, and who Hath with a

padlock sealed thee of rubies sweet of show?

Whoso but looks upon thee is mad for joy and pride. How should

it fare with him, who kisseth thee, heigho!

And as saith another:

O pearls of the teeth of my love, Have ruth on cornelian and

spare To vie with it! Shall it not find You peerless and

passing compare?

In fine, she comprised all manner of loveliness and was a

ravishment to men and women, nor could the beholder satisfy

himself with the sight of her beauty; for she was as the poet

hath said of her:

If, face to face, she do appear, unveiled, she slays; and if

She turn her back, she makes all men her lovers far and

near.

Like the full moon and eke the sun she is, but cruelty And

inhumanity belong not to her nature dear.

The garden-gates of Paradise are opened with her shift And the

full moon revolveth still upon her neck-rings' sphere.

As I looked at her through the opening of the curtains, she

turned and seeing me standing at the door, said to her maid,

"See who stands at the door." So the maid came up to me and

said, "O old man, hast thou no shame, or do gray hairs and

impudence go together?" "O my mistress," answered I, "I confess

to the gray hairs, but as for unmannerliness, I think not to be

guilty of it." "And what can be more unmannerly," rejoined her

mistress, "than to intrude thyself upon a house other than thy

house and gaze on a harem other than thy harem?" "O my lady,"

said I, "I have an excuse." "And what is thine excuse?" asked

she. Quoth I, "I am a stranger and well-nigh dead of thirst."

"We accept thine excuse," answered she and calling one of her

maids, said to her, "O Lutf, give him to drink in the golden

tankard."

So she brought me a tankard of red gold, set with pearls and

jewels, full of water mingled with odoriferous musk and covered

with a napkin of green silk; and I addressed myself to drink

and was long about it, casting stolen glances at her the while,

till I could prolong it no longer. Then I returned the tankard

to the maid, but did not offer to go; and she said to me, "O old

man, go thy way." "O my lady," replied I, "I am troubled in mind."

"For what?" asked she; and I answered, "For the uncertainty of

fortune and the vicissitudes of events." "Well mayst thou be

troubled thereanent," replied she, "for Time[FN#29] is the

mother of wonders. But what hast thou seen of them that thou

shouldst muse upon?" Quoth I, "I was thinking of the former

owner of this house, for he was my good friend in his lifetime."

"What was his name?" asked she. "Mohammed ben Ali the Jeweller,"

answered I; "and he was a man of great wealth. Did he leave

any children?" "Yes," said she; "he left a daughter, Budour

by name, who inherited all his wealth." Quoth I, "Meseems

thou art his daughter?" "Yes," answered she, laughing; then

added, "O old man, thou hast talked long enough; go thy ways."

"Needs must I go," replied I; "but I see thou art out of health.

Tell me thy case; it may be God will give thee solace at

my hands." "O old man," rejoined she, "if thou be a man of

discretion, I will discover to thee my secret; but first

tell me who thou art, that I may know whether thou art worthy

of confidence or not; for the poet saith:

None keepeth secrets but the man who's trusty and discreet: A

secret's ever safely placed with honest fold and leal;

For me, my secrets I preserve within a locked-up house, Whose

key is lost and on whose door is set the Cadi's seal."

"O my lady," answered I, "an thou wouldst know who I am, I am

Ali ben Mensour of Damascus, the Wag, boon-companion to the

Khalif Haroun er Reshid." When she heard my name she came down

from her seat and saluting me, said, "Welcome, O Ibn Mensour!

Now will I tell thee my case and entrust thee with my secret.

Know that I am a lover separated from her beloved." "O my

lady," rejoined I, "thou art fair and shouldst love none but

the fair. Whom then dost thou love?" Quoth she, "I love Jubeir

ben Umeir es Sheibani, Prince of the Benou Sheiban;"[FN#30] and

she described to me a young man than whom there was none

handsomer in Bassora. "O my lady," asked I, "have letters or

interviews passed between you?" "Yes," answered she; "but his

love for me was of the tongue, not of the heart; for he kept

not his covenant nor was faithful to his troth." "And what was

the cause of your separation?" asked I.

"I was sitting one day," replied she, "whilst my maid here

combed my hair. When she had made an end of combing it, she

plaited my tresses, and my beauty and grace pleased her; so she

bent down to me and kissed my cheek. At that moment, he came

in, unawares, and seeing her kiss my cheek, turned away in

anger, vowing eternal separation and repeating the following

verses:

If any share with me in her I love, incontinent, I'll cast her

off from me and be to live alone content.

A mistress, sure, is nothing worth, if, in the way of love, She

wish for aught but that to which the lover doth consent.

And from that time to this, O Ibn Mensour," continued she, "he

hath neither written to me nor answered my letters." "And what

thinkest thou to do?" asked I. Quoth she, "I have a mind to send

him a letter by thee. If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt

have of me five hundred dinars; and if not, then a hundred for

thy pains." "Do what seemeth good to thee," answered I. So she

called for inkhorn and paper and wrote the following verses:

Whence this estrangement and despite, beloved of my soul?

Whither have kindliness and love between us taken flight?

What makes thee with aversion turn from me? Indeed, thy face Is

not the face I used to know, when we our troth did plight.

Belike, the slanderers have made a false report of me, And thou

inclin'dst to them, and they redoubled in despite.

If thou believedst their report, far, far it should have been

From thee, that art too whole of wit at such a bait to

bite!

Yea, I conjure thee by thy life, tell me what thou hast heard:

For lo! thou knowest what was said and wilt not do

unright.

If aught I've said that angered thee, a speech of change

admits; Ay, and interpreting, I trow, may change its

meaning quite,

Were it a word sent down from God; for even the Pentateuch Hath

falsified and garbled been of this and th' other

wight.[FN#31]

Whilst, as for lies, how many were of folk before us told!

Joseph to Jacob was traduced and blackened in his sight.

Yea, for the slanderer and myself and thee, an awful day Of

standing up shall come, when God to judgment all shall

cite.

Then she sealed the letter and gave it to me. I took it and

carried it to the house of Jubeir ben Umeir, whom I found

absent hunting. So I sat down, to wait for him, and presently

he returned; and when I saw him come riding up, my wit was

confounded by his beauty ands grace. As soon as he saw me

sitting at the door, he dismounted and coming up to me, saluted

and embraced me; and meseemed I embraced the world and all that

therein is. Then he carried me into his house and seating me on

his own couch, called for food. So they brought a table of

khelenj[FN#32] wood of Khorassan, with feet of gold, whereon

were all manner of meats, fried and roasted and the like. So I

seated myself at the table and examining it, found the following

verses engraved upon it:

Weep for the cranes that erst within the porringers did lie And

for the stews and partridges evanished heave a sigh!

Mourn for the younglings of the grouse; lament unceasingly, As,

for the omelettes and the fowls browned in the pan, do I.

How my heart yearneth for the fish that, in its different

kinds, Upon a paste of wheaten flour, lay hidden in the

pie!

Praised be God for the roast meat, as in the dish it lay, With

pot-herbs, soaked in vinegar, in porringers hard by,

And eke the rice with buffaloes' milk dressed and made savoury,

Wherein the hands were plunged and arms were buried

bracelet high!

O soul, I rede thee patient be, for God is bountiful: What

though thy fortunes straitened be, His succour's ever

nigh.

Then said Jubeir, "Put thy hand to our food and ease our heart

by eating of our victual." "By Allah," answered I, "I will not

eat a mouthful, till thou grant me my desire." "What is thy

desire?" asked he. So I brought out the letter and gave it to

him; but, when he had read it, he tore it into pieces and

throwing it on the floor, said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, I will

grant thee whatever thou askest, save this that concerns the

writer of this letter, for I have no answer to make to her." At

this, I rose in anger; but he caught hold of my skirts, saying,

"O Ibn Mensour, I will tell thee what she said to thee, for all

I was not present with you." "And what did she say to me?"

asked I. "Did she not say to thee," rejoined he, "'If thou bring

me back an answer, thou shalt have of me five hundred dinars;

and if not, a hundred for thy pains?'" "Yes," answered I; and

he said, "Abide with me this day and eat and drink and make

merry, and thou shalt have five hundred dinars."

So I sat with him and ate and drank and made merry and

entertained him with converse; after which I said to him, "O my

master, is there no music in thy house?" "Indeed," answered he,

"we have drunk this long while without music." Then he called

out, saying, "Ho, Shejeret ed Durr!" Whereupon a slave-girl

answered him from her chamber and came in to us, with a lute of

Indian make, wrapped in a silken bag. She sat down and laying

the lute in her lap, preluded in one-and-twenty modes, then,

returning to the first, sang the following verses to a lively

measure:

Who hath not tasted the sweet and the bitter of passion, I

trow, The presence of her whom he loves from her absence

he hardly shall know.

So he, from the pathway of love who hath wandered and fallen

astray, The smooth knoweth not from the rough of the

roadway, wherein he doth go.

I ceased not the votaries of love and of passion to cross and

gainsay, Till I too must taste of its sweet and its

bitter, its gladness and woe.

Then I drank a full draught of the cup of its bitters, and

humbled was I, and thus to the bondman of Love and its

freedman therein was brought low.

How many a night have I passed with the loved one, carousing

with him, Whilst I drank from his lips what was sweeter

than nectar and colder than snow!

How short was the life of the nights of our pleasance! It

seemed to us still, No sooner was night fallen down than

the daybreak to eastward did glow.

But Fortune had vowed she would sever our union and sunder our

loves; And now, in good sooth, she her vow hath

accomplished. Fate ordered it so;

Fate ordered it thus, and against its ordaining, appeal there

is none; For who shall gainsay a supreme one's

commandments or causes him forego?

Hardly had she made an end of these verses, when Jubeir gave a

great cry and fell down in a swoon; whereupon, "May God not

punish thee, O old man!" exclaimed the damsel. "This long time

have we drunk without music, for fear the like of this should

befall our master. But go now to yon chamber and sleep there."

So I went to the chamber in question and slept till the

morning, when a page brought me a purse of five hundred dinars

and said to me, "This is what my master promised thee; but

return thou not to her who sent thee and let it be as if

neither thou nor we had heard of this affair." "I hear and

obey," answered I and taking the purse, went my way.

However, I said in myself, "The lady will have expected me

since yesterday; and by Allah, I must needs return to her and

tell her what passed between me and him; or she will curse me

and all who come from my country." So I went to her and found

her standing behind the door; and when she saw me, she said, "O

Ibn Mensour, thou hast gotten me nought." "Who told thee of

this?" asked I; and she answered, "O Ibn Mensour, yet another

thing hath been revealed to me; and it is that, when thou

gavest hum the letter, he tore it in pieces and throwing it on

the floor, said to thee, 'O Ibn Mensour, ask me anything but

what relates to the writer of this letter; for I have no reply

to make to her.' Then didst thou rise from beside him in anger;

but he laid hold of thy skirts, saying, 'Abide with me to-day,

for thou art my guest, and eat and drink and make merry; and

thou shalt have five hundred dinars.' So thou didst sit with

him, eating and drinking and making merry, and entertainedst

him with converse; and a slave-girl sand such an air and such

verses, whereupon he fell down in a swoon." Quoth I, "Wast thou

then with us?" "O Ibn Mensour," replied she, "hast thou not

heard the saying of the poet:

The heart of the lover hath eyes, well I wot, That see what the

eyes of beholders see not.

But," added she, "day and night alternate not upon aught, but they

change it." Then she raised her eyes to heaven and said, "O my

God and my Master and my Lord, like as Thou hast afflicted me

with love of Jubeir ben Umeir, even so do Thou afflict him with

love of me and transfer the passion from my heart to his!" Then

she gave me a hundred dinars for my pains and I took it and

returned to the palace, when I found the Sultan come back from

hunting; so I took my pension of him and made my way back to

Baghdad.

Next year, I repaired to Bassora, as usual, to seek my pension,

and the Sultan paid it to me; but as I was about to return to

Baghdad, I bethought me of the lady Budour and said to myself,

"By Allah, I must needs go and see what hath befallen between

her and her lover!" So I went to her house and finding the

porch swept and sprinkled and slaves and servants and pages

standing before the door, said to myself, "Most like grief hath

broken the lady's heart and she is dead, and some Amir or other

hath taken up his abode in her house." So I went on to Jubeir's

house, where I found the benches of the porch broken down and

no pages at the door, as of wont, and said to myself, "Belike

he too is dead." Then I took up my station before the door of

his house and with my eyes running over with tears, bemoaned it

in the following verses:

Lords, that are gone, but whom my heart doth evermore ensue,

Return; so shall my festal says return to me with you.

I stand before your sometime stead, bewailing your abodes, With

quivering lids, from which the tears rain down, like

summer dew.

Weeping, I question of the house and ruins, "Where is he Who

was the source of benefits and bounties ever new?"

[They answer] "Go thy ways, for those thou lov'st from the

abode Departed are and neath the dust are buried; so

adieu!"

May God not stint us of the sight [in dreams] of all their

charms Nor be their noble memories aye absent from men's

view!

As I was thus bewailing the folk of the house, there came a

black slave thereout and said to me, "Hold thy peace, O old

man! May thy mother be bereft of thee! What ails thee to bemoan

the house thus?" Quoth I, "I knew it of yore, when it belonged

to a good friend of mine." "What was his name?" asked the

slave. And I answered, "Jubeir ben Umeir the Sheibani." "And

what hath befallen him?" rejoined he. "Praised be God, he is

yet in the enjoyment of wealth and rank and prosperity, except

that God hath stricken him with love of a damsel called the

lady Budour; and he is overcome with love of her, that, for the

violence of his passion and torment, he is like a great rock

overthrown. If he hunger, he saith not, 'Feed me;' nor, if he

thirst, doth he say, 'Give me to drink.'" Quoth I, "Ask leave

me to go in to him." "O my lord," said the slave, "Wilt thou go

in to him who understands or to him who understands not?" "I

must needs see him, whatever be his case," answered I.

Se he went in and presently returned with permission for me to

enter, whereupon I went in to Jubeir and found him like a rock

overthrown, understanding neither sign nor speech. I spoke to

him, but he answered me not; and one of his servants said to

me, "O my lord, if thou know aught of verse, repeat it, and

raise thy voice; and he will be aroused by this and speak with

thee." So I recited the following verses:

Budour's love hast thou forgotten or art deaf still to her

sighs? Wak'st anights, or do thine eyelids close upon thy

sleeping eyes?

If thy tears flow fast and freely, night and day long, torrent-

wise, Know thou, then, that thou shalt sojourn evermore in

Paradise.[FN#33]

When he heard this, he opened his eyes and said, "Welcome, O

Ibn Mensour! Verily, the jest is become earnest." "O my lord,"

said I, "is there aught thou wouldst have me do for thee?"

"Yes," answered he; "I would fain write her a letter and send

it to her by thee. If thou bring me back an answer, thou shalt

have of me a thousand dinars; and if not, two hundred for thy

pains." "Do what seemeth good to thee," said I. So he called to

one of his slave-girls for inkhorn and paper and wrote the

following verses:

By Allah, O my lady, have ruth on me, I pray! For all my wit by

passion is ravished quite away.

Yea, love for thee and longing have mastered me and clad With

sickness and bequeathed me abjection and dismay.

Aforetime, O my lady, by love I set small store And deemed it

light and easy to bear, until to-day;

But now that Love hath shown me the billows of its sea, Those I

excuse, repenting, who languish neath its sway.

Vouchsafe thy grace to grant me; or, if thou wilt me slay, At

least, then, for thy victim forget thou not to pray.

Then he sealed the letter and gave it to me. I took it and

repairing to Budour's house, raised the curtain of the door,

little by little, as of wont, and looking in, saw ten damsels,

high-bosomed maids, like moons, and the lady Budour sitting in

their midst, as she were the full moon among stars or the sun,

when it is clear of clouds; nor was there on her any trace of

pain or care. As I looked and marvelled at her case, she turned

and seeing me standing at the gate, said to me, "Welcome and

fair welcome to thee, O Ibn Mensour! Come in." So I entered and

saluting her, gave her the letter. She read it and laughing,

said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, the poet lied not when he said:

The love of thee I will endure with patient constancy, Till

such time as a messenger shall come to me from thee.

O Ibn Mensour," added she, "I will write thee an answer that

he may give thee what he promised thee." "May God requite thee

with good!" answered I. So she called for inkhorn and paper and

wrote the following verses:

How comes it my vows I fulfilled and thou, thou wast false to

thy plight? Thou sawst me do justice and truth, and yet

thou thyself didst unright.

'Twas thou that begannest on me with rupture and rigour, I

trow; 'Twas thou that play'dst foul, and with thee began

the untruth and the slight.

Yea, still I was true to my troth and cherished but thee among

men And ceased not thine honour to guard and keep it

unsullied and bright,

Till tidings of fashions full foul I heard, as reported of

thee, And saw with mine eyes what thou didst, to harm me

and work me despite.

Shall I then abase my estate, that thine may exalted become? By

God, hadst thou generous been, the like should thy conduct

requite!

So now unto solace I'll turn my heart, with forgetting, from

thee And washing my hands of thy thought, blot despair for

thee out of my spright.

"By Allah, O my lady," said I, "there needs but the reading of

this letter, to kill him!" So I tore it in pieces and said to

her, "Write him other than this." "I hear and obey," answered

she and wrote the following:

Indeed, I am consoled and sleep is pleasant to mine eyes; For I

have heard what came of prate of slanderers and spies.

My heart my summons hath obeyed, thee to forget; and eke My

lids to stint from wake for thee have seen it good and

wise.

He lies who says that severance is bitterness; for me I find

its taste none otherwise than sweet; indeed he lies.

I've grown to turn away from those who bring me news of thee

And look upon it as a thing at which my gorge doth rise.

Behold, I have forgotten thee with every part of me. Let then

the spy and who will else this know and recognise.

"By Allah, O my lady," said I, "when he reads these verses, his

soul will depart his body!" "O Ibn Mensour," quoth she, "is

passion indeed come to such a pass with him as thou sayst?"

"Had I said more than this," replied I, "it were but the truth:

but clemency is of the nature of the noble." When she heard

this, her eyes filled with tears and she wrote him a letter, O

Commander of the Faithful, there is none in thy court could

avail to write the like of it; and therein were these verses:

How long shall this despite continue and this pride? My enviers'

spite on me thou sure hast satisfied.

Mayhap, I did amiss and knew it not; so tell Me what thou heardst

of me, that did our loves divide.

Even as I welcome sleep unto mine eyes and lids, So would I

welcome thee, beloved, to my side.

I've quaffed the cup of love for thee, unmixed and pure; So, if

thou see me drunk, reproach me not nor chide.

Then she sealed it and gave it to me; and I said, "O my lady,

this thy letter will heal the sick and ease the thirsting soul."

Then I took it and was going away, when she called me back and

said to me, "Tell me that I will be his guest this night." At

this I rejoiced greatly and carried the letter to Jubeir, whom I

found with his eyes fixed on the door, expecting the reply. I

gave him the letter and he opened and read it, then gave a great

cry and fell down in a swoon. When he came to himself, he said to

me, "O Ibn Mensour, did she indeed write this letter with her

hand and touch it with her fingers?" "O my lord," answered I, "do

folk write with their feet?" And by Allah, O Commander of the

Faithful, I had not done speaking, when we heard the chink of her

anklets in the vestibule and she entered.

When he saw her, he sprang to his feet, as thou there ailed him

nought, and embraced her as the letter Lam embraces Alif,[FN#34]

and the malady, that would not depart, ceased from him. Then he

sat down, but she abode standing and I said to her, "O my lady,

why dost thou not sit?" Quoth she, "I will not sit, O Ibn

Mensour, save on a condition that is between us." "And what is

that?" asked I. "None may know lovers' secrets," answered she and

putting her mouth to Jubeir's ear, whispered to him; whereupon,

"I hear and obey," replied he and rising, said somewhat privily

to one of his slaves, who went out and returned, in a little,

with a Cadi and two witnesses. Then Jubeir rose and taking a bag

containing a hundred thousand dinars, said, "O Cadi, marry me to

this young lady and write this sum to her dowry." Quoth the Cadi

to her, "Say, 'I consent to this.'" "I consent to this," said

she, whereupon he drew up the contract of marriage, and she

opened the bag and taking out a handful of gold, gave it to the

Cadi and the witnesses and handed the rest to Jubeir.

Then the Cadi and the witnesses withdrew, and I sat with them, in

mirth and delight, till the most part of the night was past, when

I said in myself, "These are lovers and have been this long while

separated. I will go now and sleep in some place afar from them

and leave them to be private, one with the other." So I rose, but

she laid hold of my skirts, saying, "What thinkest thou to do?"

"So and so," answered I. But she rejoined, "Sit still, when we

would be rid of thee, we will send thee away." So I sat with them

till near daybreak, when she said to me, "O Ibn Mensour, go to

yonder chamber; for we have furnished it for thee, and it is thy

sleeping-place." So I went thither and slept till morning, when a

page brought me basin and ewer, and I made the ablution and

prayed the morning-prayer. Then I sat down and presently, Jubeir

and his mistress came out of the bath in the house, wringing

their locks.

I wished them good morning and gave them joy of their safety and

reunion, saying to Jubeir, "That which began with constraint hath

ended in contentment." "Thou sayst well," replied he; "and indeed

thou deservest largesse." And he called his treasurer and bade

him fetch three thousand dinars. So he brought a purse containing

that sum, and Jubeir gave it to me, saying, "Favour us by

accepting this." "I will not take it," answered I, "till thou

tell me the manner of the transfer of love from her to thee,

after so great an aversion." "I hear and obey," said he. "Know

that we have a festival, called the festival of the New Year,

when all the people use to take boat and go a-pleasuring on the

river. So I went out, with my comrades, and saw a boat, wherein

were half a score damsels like moons, and amongst them, the lady

Budour, with her lute in her hand. She preluded in eleven modes,

then returning to the first, sang the following verses:

Fire is not so fierce and so hot as the fires in my heart that

glow, And granite itself is less hard than the heart of my

lord, I trow.

Indeed, when I think on his make and his fashion, I marvel to see

A heart that is harder than rock in a body that's softer

than snow.

Quoth I to her, 'Repeat the verses and the air.' But she would

not; so I bade the boatmen pelt her with oranges, and they pelted

her till we feared her boat would sink. Then she went her way,

and this is how the love was transferred from her breast to

mine." So I gave them joy of their reunion and taking the purse,

with its contents, returned to Baghdad.

When the Khalif heard Ibn Mensour's story, his heart was

lightened and the restlessness and oppression from which he

suffered forsook him.